Blizzard closes portions of highways 2 and 97

The Washington State Department of Transportation closed portions of highways 2 and 97, through Stevens and Blewett passes, as a blizzard pummeled the Cascades on Tuesday.

There are no detours available for either road and no estimated times for reopening. With the combination of poor visibility, high winds and heavy snow, both will likely remain closed overnight, according to WSDOT.

Highway 2 closed Tuesday afternoon from Scenic to Coles Corner, between mileposts 58 and 80. Blewett Pass on Highway 97 was closed from milepost 150 to 178.

The National Weather Service issued its first blizzard warning since 2012 for elevations above 2,000 feet through 10 a.m. Wednesday. The warning includes the Cascade mountains and valleys in Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, Pierce and Lewis counties, including the Mount Baker and Crystal Mountain ski areas, Stevens and Snoqualmie passes and Paradise on Mount Rainier.

The Washington Emergency Management Division is urging drivers to avoid traveling through the passes.

The blizzard conditions at Stevens Pass probably won’t ease up much overnight, said Jacob DeFlitch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. Conditions will lighten Wednesday morning, but the snow will keep falling through midday, he said.

The Cascades, including all of the mountain passes, are expected to see another healthy dose of snow that will get heavy at times beginning Wednesday night, DeFlitch said.

Stevens Pass announced it would close the ski resort through Wednesday morning. The Summit at Snoqualmie also announced it would close through Wednesday morning due to a power outage.